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Text H. The Romanovs House
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Tsar Ivan the Terrible began his reign in triumph but ended it in disaster. He succeeded in strengthening the power of the Tsar and consolidating Russian lands in the Muscovite state, conquering the Khans of Kazan and Astrakhan and moving the borders closer to the Baltic Sea. But Ivan's violent temper deprived Russia of the successor who would have continued the consolidation process. In 1581 in a fit of rage, Ivan struck his eldest son and mortally wounded him. When the Tsar died in 1584 his domains were left in the hands of Feodor Ivanovich, his feebleminded younger son, who produced no heirs and whose death in 1598 led to the demise of the House of Rurik which had ruled Russia for about 7 centuries.
In her search for a new dynasty Russia went through a period of chaos and violence which is referred to as the Time of Troubles (Смутное время). In the brief space of 12 years three Tsars rose and fell (Boris Godunov, False Dmitry, Vassily Shuisky). The culmination of the political, social and military crisis was the fall of Novgorod to the Swedes and the occupation of Moscow by the Polish Army in 1611. Three men – Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, the Patriarch of Moscow Germogen and Kuzma Minin, a citizen of Nizhny Novgorod led Russia out of those dark days. After the Polish were driven out of Moscow, an Assembly of the Land (Земский собор) was summoned to the capital. There, early in 1613, about five hundred delegates met to decide Russia's fate.
On February 7 (old style) the Assembly of the Land chose as Russia's new Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov. He belonged to a family that had served Russia loyally in high office for many years. Mikhail's great-aunt had been the Tsarina Anastasia, Ivan the Terrible's beloved wife, who died mysteriously at the age of thirty (some sources say, she was poisoned).
| Her elder brother, Nikita Romanovich Yuriev-Zakharin was a general and a statesman at Ivan's court. He brought Russia many important victories during the Great Livonian War and defended the southern borders against the Tatar-Mongols. Nikita's descendants assumed his father's patronymic as a family name – Romanov and it quickly became one of the most prominent names of the time. Nikita's eldest son, Feodor, became the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and Nikita's grandson Mikhail was chosen to start a new dynasty. On February 21 (old style), in the Great Kremlin Palace, Mikhail was proclaimed Tsar of All Russia.Though the first Romanov seems not to have played а very important role in Russian history, he established а dynasty that ruled Russia from July 1613 until March 1917 and produced quite а number of outstanding personalities, among them Tsar Aleksey, Peter the Great, Tsarina Elizaveta, Catherine the Great, Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II and ten others in between. During their rule Russia grew into а vast Empire which spread over one-sixth of the Earth' s surface with more than one hundred million subjects. | 
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UNIT 4. THE USA
1. Pre-reading task. Answer the following questions.
1. How vast is the USA?
2. What is the population of the USA?
3. Who is the president of the USA now?
4. What are the branches of the federal government?
Text A. The USA
The USA is a federal republic in North America, including Hawaii and Alaska. 89% of people are white, 10% – Afro-American and mulatto, small American Indian, Japanese, Chinese and Fillipino. They are minorities.
America is often called “the melting pot” as it is a nation of immigrants. There were three major countries involved in the colonization of America – Spain, France and England. Russians came to America as early as the 18th century and in 1812 established fort Ross in California.
The colonies united as the USA under the Articles of Confederation (1781), superseded by the U. S. constitution (1789), which gave the federal government greatly increased powers. Washington, the leader of the Americans colonies during the War for Independence became the first president of the USA (1789-97) under the constitution. George Washington and a group of men who wrote the US Constitution are called the Founding Fathers.
Under the Constitution, the federal government is divided into three branches:
The Executive Branch: It is represented by the President. He is considered to be the Chief Executive. And he forms the government. The president is elected for four years. He can not be younger than 35 years and he must live in the USA for at least 14 years. The President can not be elected for more than two terms. People don’t vote for the President, they vote for electors. This group of electors is called an Electoral College. When Americans vote for a president, they are actually voting for the Electoral College elector.
The Legislative Branch: The Legislative Branch makes laws and is called Congress. It has two Houses: The House of representatives and the Senate. The Senate has 100 senators, two from each state. They are elected for six years. The head of the Senate is the Vice-President. The members of the house of Representatives are elected on the basis of a State population for two years. There are 435 members. The head of the House of Representatives is the Speaker.
The Judicial Branch: It consists of the Supreme Court and the system of federal courts. There are three main courts in the federal court system: district court, court of appeal (аппеляция) and the Supreme Court. Ninety one district courts operate around the country. District courts judges are appointed for life. The court of appeal studies the case. It deals only with legal procedures. Only two kinds of cases can be heard in the Supreme Court- disputes between the States and cases involving foreign ambassadors.
A bill (proposed law) must be approved by both the Senate and the House and signed by the President before it becomes a law. If the president disapproves, the Senate and the House each by 2/3 vote may over ride this veto.
Each of the two chambers divides its work into committees. There are 15 regular or standing committees in the Senate and 22 in the House. These committees meet to make new laws or to change old laws. Committee hearings are held in Washington, D. C., and in the other parts of the U. S. A committee then reports its recommendations to its chamber of Congress. The same process must take place in the other chamber of Congress.
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Senators and Representatives usually belong to one of the two major political parties, Republican or Democratic. In each chamber, the party with the most members select the leaders: the Speaker of the House
There are two major political parties in the United States – the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. A party symbol of Democrats is a donkey, a party symbol of Republicans is an elephant. These animals as symbols for these parties were first used in cartoons in 1870’s.
Washington is the Nation’s Capital. Washington, District of Columbia, at the beginning of the 19th century was called “the city of wilderness”. There is the first milestone of the city. It is called “Zero Milestone”, from which all distances away from Washington are measured. It is situated on the bank of the Potomac River.
The population of Washington D. C. consists of 75% of Negro population. Negro population is occupied in service and trade. The metropoles of the USA is New York, the largest city of the country. New York is a city of contrasts between the interests of monopoly capital and the needs of the people. The symbol of New York city is a red apple. So, City of New York is called “Apple”.
In 1800 capital moved to Washington, District of Columbia (the first Capital of America – Philadelphia, the second one – New York, the third Capital – Washington).
2. Answer the following questions.
1. How many states does the USA consist of?
2. What are the Houses of the Congress?
3. How many countries were involved in the colonization of America? What are they?
4. Why did the colonies unite?
5. What was George Washington during the War for Independence?
6. Who wrote the 1st Constitution?
7. When did the USA declare its independence?
8. What are the functions of the Executive branch?
9. What are the functions of the Legislative branch?
10. What are the functions of the Judicial branch?
11. How many chambers does the Congress consist of?
12. How many committees are there in the Senate and in the House?
13. What are the functions of these committees?
14. Where are committee hearings held?
15. What party do Senators and Representatives usually belong to?
16. What are the main Political Parties in the USA?
17. What are their symbols?
18. Where is the capital located?
19. What is the population of Washington?
3. Read the sentences below and say if the statements are true or false:
1. The USA is situated in South America.
2. Five major countries were involved in the colonization of America, among them Russia.
3. George Washington didn’t take part in the war for Independence, he only wrote the US Constitution.
4. Alaska belongs to Russia.
5. The city of Washington is the capital of 50 federal states.
6. The Executive branch is headed by the vice president.
7. A bill must be approved by both the Senate and the House and signed by the President.
8. Senators usually belong to Democratic party.
9. The population of Washington D. C. consists of Negro population.
10. New-York was the second capital of the USA.
4. Make up a plan of the text.
5. Make up dialogues on the basis of the text.
Text B. Holidays
In the USA different states celebrate different holidays, but everyone remembers July 4th, “Independence Day”. On this day in 1776, America signed the “Declaration of Independence” and started the fight for freedom from British rule. People go out into the streets on July 4th, dress up, and take part in parades. In the evening there are always parties and fireworks.
The second big American festival is Thanksgiving Day. On the fourth Thursday in November, American families meet for a special dinner, usually with turkey, pumpkin and pies. They give thanks to God for the past year, and remember the first harvest of the first European Americans in 1621.
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Children always have fun at Halloween on October 31st. They are dressed up as ghost and witches. They cut up a pumpkin to look like a frightening face and put a light inside. They go from house to house and say “Trick or Treat”. If they get a ”Treat” (something nice, like sweets or apple) they go away happy. But if they don’t, they play a “Trick”. They might put soap on the windows, or throw rubbish into the garden.
There are two days in the year when both the Americans and British remember special people, February 14th is St Valentine’s Day. People in love send “Valentines” to each other, special cards with hearts, flowers and loving words.
The second Sunday in May is “Mother’s Day”. People buy cards, flowers and chocolates for their mothers.
Presidents’Day. Until the mid – 1970’s the birthday of George Washington, the first president of the United States was observed as a federal holiday (February, 22). In the 1970s Congress declared that in order to honor all past presidents of the USA, a single holiday, to be called Presidents’ Day, would be observed on the third Monday in February.
Veteran’s Day. This holiday was originally called Armistice Day and was established to honor those Americans who had served in the first World War. It falls on November 11, the day on which the war was ended in 1918. Now it honors veterans of all the wars in which the United States has been involved.
6. Put 7 questions to each other for comprehension check and answer them. Use the following words:
to celebrate, to sign, to fight for freedom, to take part in, to meet for, to have fun, to play a “trick”, to be in love, to mean, to declare, to establish, to serve.
7. Speak on and discuss the holidays celebrated in your country. Work in pairs.
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